Laptops with touch screens are nothing new. They’ve been around for a number of years, and many of them have been successful. It seems that Apple has never shown a general interest in this type of device, but it looks like that could change. According to reports, the company has been internally studying the idea and developing a touchscreen laptop. In fact, if the rumors turn out to be accurate, we could see a . For everyone’s sake though, I hope this project remains unreleased and hidden away from people’s eyes and hands. And if, God forbid, he releases it, I just hope it addresses some very valid concerns.
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Hardware: The current form factor is not touch friendly
Let’s start with the device. When people first open the lid of a MacBook, they usually angle the screen somewhere between 90 and 120 degrees with the keyboard. After this point, the cap begins to resist, and pushing it further will likely damage its hinge and closing mechanism. So you can’t even get the MacBook screen up to 180 degrees without breaking it. This is why Steve Jobs was against touchscreen laptops back in the day.
As a result, most MacBook screens are used vertically. When you’re constantly using touch inputs on a vertical screen, your arm will ache. Take tablets, for example – when we use them we usually place them horizontally or tilted slightly upwards. This is the comfortable corner for the average person.
Apple Macbook Air M2
Another fairly minor, but valid concern, is hygiene. If you have ever used a MacBook, you are probably aware of how easy it is to smudge displays and how difficult it is to clean. My iPad screen already looks like a mess, and I say that as someone who washes and wipes their hands regularly. My fingers are by no means overly greasy, yet the iPad feels like a crime scene after a few hours of using it. What I love about my country is how its screen always looks fresh and sharp because I simply never touch it. While this may seem like an insignificant argument, I’m sure many other users share the same sentiments.
So unless Apple plans to redesign the MacBook Pro hinge to support at least 180-degree angles, or preferably 360-degree angles, touch input won’t be convenient or practical for most people. And assuming the product adds a matte finish to the screen to address the smudge issue, this device still shouldn’t see the light of day.
Software: macOS isn’t quite ready to handle our fingers
Now that we’ve theoretically gotten past the hardware hurdles, it’s time to tackle what’s arguably the second most important issue — macOS. Well, not the current problem per se, but it would be if Apple decided to make it touch-friendly. We’ve seen Microsoft’s efforts to solve this dilemma before, and they haven’t been successful, to say the least. With an emphasis on touch input, using the operating system with a mouse and keyboard has become a bad thing. In addition, it was completely redesigned from the classic Windows, which made it confusing to use. Likewise, with the return to mouse/keyboard input focus on Windows 10, the operating system has ceased to be touch-friendly. He can’t have his cake and eat it either, which would be the case with macOS.
Currently, macOS has relatively small widgets, so you have to precisely press a small button with your mouse pointer. If the device were to adopt a touch screen, the design would have to be fixed to accommodate our large fingers and the resulting inaccuracies in touch input. Right now, iPadOS — which is a touch operating system — includes support for mouse pointers, but I can’t count on that. Touch is easier to use with my iPad because that’s how the software was designed. It’s very awkward to jump long distances between different buttons and flick a big dreadful cursor to turn it on. Introducing this kind of user interface philosophy would simply destroy a Mac.
If Apple really wants to bring touchscreen to a device that supports macOS, I have a few ideas. First, the MacBook will need a 360-degree hinge that will boot the operating system when it’s in tablet mode. Thus, the interface will change from the traditional macOS interface to that of iPadOS. We’re not dual booting here. Instead, it will be the same hybrid operating system that quickly changes the interface depending on whether you’re in tablet or laptop mode.
Another decision is to go the Samsung DeX route with the iPad Pro models. For those who are not familiar with DeX, it is a feature that allows Samsung phone users to take advantage of a desktop-like experience by connecting their smartphone to a mouse, keyboard, and external monitor. Apple’s high-end iPads are already powered by the M2 Mac chip, so this could be a solution. However, the limitations of iPadOS limit what users can do with this power. So the aforementioned hybrid OS can be deployed on the iPad Pro and the OS switch will be triggered when the Magic Keyboard is (disconnected).
Do we even need a touchscreen MacBook? Not right.
Aside from a complete software and hardware redesign, Apple will have to tackle another problem: do we really need a touchscreen MacBook? I’ve never felt the need to touch my MacBook Air’s screen. When I comment I simply take out my file and . And users looking for third-party options for professional digital illustrations can rely on dedicated platforms, like those from Wacom. There are many other proven alternatives that not many will use. Obviously, adding a touchscreen would also increase the price, making it less attractive to many potential customers.
If Apple really wanted to bring the touchscreen to a macOS-enabled device, it would have to keep it as an optional hardware configuration instead of applying it to all Macs, as some rumors suggest. The world doesn’t really need a touchscreen MacBook, at least not in its current form factor. I really hope that if Apple releases it, it will come with a reimagined design that addresses our concerns and exceeds our expectations. Otherwise, the device must remain as a test unit hidden in a remote, undisclosed Cupertino lab.
Are you for or against touchscreen MacBooks? Let us know in the comments section below.